Story

Kenny's music night rounded off a years fundraising and raised £2,040

Fundraising dinner at Glenturrret distillery raised more than £18,000

Whilst I have always maintained optimism that I would eventually reach my £60,000 fundraising target because the overwhelming positive support I was not prepared for the huge success of the fundraising dinner which was held on Friday 24th November in Glenturret distillery in Crieff. The dinner sponsored by Entier/Wild thyme was attended by 130 guests. Ticket sales of the dinner alone raised more than £4500 towards my target. Both local and not so local businesses had generously donated valuable items to be auctioned off in what I'd termed a "shaky auction". The auction itself benefited from a professional auctioneer who knew how to engage an interested and very supportive audience. I still cannot quite believe it, but at the end of the night the event raised more than £18,000 lifting the total raised this year to over £65,000. I have no doubt the serious words spoken by top scientists Dr Miratul Muqit and Dr Esther Sammler stimulated engagement. I am extremely grateful to all those who donated auction items, to Entier/Wilde thyme , and to all the volunteers who prepared the wonderful food, the event managers who ensured smooth running and volunteers who served food et cetera. Thanks also to Kenny Cormack and to The Erratics. Having met my target I say a final big thank you to everyone who supported me and do just wonder if I should change my target to 70 K?

A fabulous fashion show raised £2,948

Thanks to Janice Fraser and a large group of volunteers, a very successful fashion show 'shook up' many woman's ward robes. The sell out event on the 3rd November was greatly enjoyed by those who attended and a I am very grateful for the support.

This followed on from a successful cycling event in the new HQ of ScottishPower in Glasgow which raised more than £4,350

Comrie crusaders ran Glasgow 10k

My daughter Lottie and 9 of her friends: Amy, Anya, Rachel, Mairi, Tom, Matty, Fergus, Ciaran and Michael all kept their spirits up high despite abysmal weather and their effort and support is boosting the funds raised. I am again overwhelmed by this fantastic support. Thank you!

Did you know?

More than four months ago, the 'Shakyteam from Shaky Toun' completed the 81 mile Etape Caledonia.

BUT, fundraising didn't stop and indeed Shaky Team Member Keith Vance completed the Edinburgh Marathon a week later on 28th May and Keith cycled the Ochils ton (100 miles!) with Stuart Henderson another week after that.

It is more than 10 years ago since I was diagnosed with Parkinson disease which presented itself to me by ‘stopping my right leg from moving’ whilst running which used to be my favourite exercise. I thought initially that I could ignore it and pretended nothing would change and that it would not affect my family and my daily life. I also thought that if I told people that I had Parkinson’s, that I would be, sympathetically perhaps, cast aside by the wider world.

I was wrong on both counts. Parkinson’s disease does affect your family and my partner and daughters have been brilliant and very supportive, and people in the wider world have stuck with me. I’m extremely thankful for that.

Once I had accepted the reality of the disease and started telling people I was particularly struck by the following reaction: “Oh, I have known for years that you have Parkinson’s, I recognise the symptoms because my father has it”.

This hammered home the reality and also the fact that there are many people affected by this disease. I have since met numerous people who are affected by Parkinson’s disease and have also learned that there are different versions (so to speak) and different stages but in all cases there is progression of the disease resulting in a worsening of symptoms, reduction in mobility and for some a gradual erosion of quality of life. Being honest that is scary.

I am fortunate that the progression of the disease for me personally has been slow and I am touching every bit of wood to keep it that way. I also believe that with adequate funding of appropriate research this dreadful disease can be tamed or cured. For this reason I want to try and raise as much money as possible for research into finding a cure for Parkinson’s. My fundraising target is very ambitious but if it is achieved it would fund cutting edge research for a full year and fund a Parkinson’s nurse for a day a week for a year. (Source: Parkinson’s UK)

As you may know, I have just celebrated my 60st birthday and this inspired me to set a target of £60,000 and a donation towards funding research into Parkinson’s disease would mean a lot to me.

Any amount will be gratefully received!

Many thanks, Marc

PS I do most of my cycling from Comrie which you might know has the nickname ‘Shaky toun’, and you probably know that most people associate shaking with Parkinson’s.Therefore I called this team: ‘Shaky team from shaky toun’.

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Every hour, someone in the UK is told they have Parkinson's. Because we're here, no one has to face Parkinson's alone.
We offer friendship, support, expert information and advice.
We also fund ground breaking research into Parkinson's and we're leading the way to find a cure.